Sandoz sues Novo Nordisk over diabetes drug

NEW YORK — Generic drug maker Sandoz is suing Danish drug maker Novo Nordisk over a generic version of a drug used to treat diabetes, according to published reports.

Bloomberg reported that Sandoz, the generics arm of Swiss drug maker Novartis, was suing Novo Nordisk in a Detroit federal court, hoping the court would find that the Sandoz generic version of Novo Nordisk's Prandin (repaglinide) did not infringe on the latter company's patent covering the drug.

Sandoz is hoping to bring the drug to market before the drug loses patent protection, according to Bloomberg. The patent is scheduled to expire in June 2018, according to Food and Drug Administration records.